Ocoee Residents Question 1981 Vote On Sewage Plant

October 31, 1986|By Dora Delgado of The Sentinel Staff

OCOEE — An Ocoee homeowner says he is having trouble selling his house because he thinks the city did not follow procedures when it approved the annexation of a parcel of land and the construction of a Prima Vista Utilities sewage treatment plant five years ago.

Gerald Sims has requested that State Sen. George Stuart, D-Orlando, investigate to see if the city followed procedures and notifed property owners that a public hearing was held to discuss the annexation and private sewage treatment plant.

He said he and others in the Spring Lake subdivision are having difficulty selling their houses because the Federal Housing Administration will not

insure mortgages for houses in a neighborhood within 400 feet of the sewage treatment plant.

Gene Andrews, chief appraiser for FHA in Orlando, said sewage plants, airports and highways are considered to be adverse influences on property values. His agency will not insure the mortgages because if there is a foreclosure FHA may not recoup its investment, he said.

In August, Sims and 44 other residents requested the city buy the land between the plants and the homes and install buffers. The city rejected the petition.

''That is when the city told us that there was nothing that they could do about it,'' Sims said, adding ''Of course, they are not going to admit that they did anything wrong and that is why a state investigation should go on.'' He said the city is at fault because it did not notify residents or post signs announcing the pending approval of the sewage plant near A.D. Mims Road, next to the Spring Lake subdivision.

A city ordinance requires that ''all property owners of lots within 300 feet of a rezoning action shall be notified by mail at least 12 days prior to the hearing date.'' However, City Manager Ted Ryan said this week that he cannot find a record of such a mailing. Sims said that of more than 100 Spring Lake homes, 28 are within 300 feet of the plant.

The sewage plant, which is on 50 acres, was built to serve two new subdivisions. Spring Lake residents rely on septic tanks.

The sewage plant's permit, along with the annexation and zoning of 145 acres where the plant is located, were unanimously approved without discussion at the city commission meeting on July 21, 1981.

Sims, who owns a house at 609 Spring Lake Circle, said that after the construction started in March 1982 some residents complained to city officials but were told that the permits had been properly granted.

''At the time, we really felt that the city had done it legally,'' said Sims. He said that it was not until this year, when he and other residents began to have problems selling their houses, that the issue surfaced again.

Of the current city commissioners, only Junior Hager was on the commission in 1981. Sims said Hager told him that he does not remember why no notification was sent. City records show Hager made the final motion to approve the building permit for the sewage treatment plant. Ryan said permits also were approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation. Hager could not be reached for comment.

City Attorney Frank Kruppenbacher said the city will not respond to charges made by Sims. ''My responsibility is to represent the city, not to advise them residents. If they want to file a claim they can do it, but there is no legal exposure for the city in this case, because four years have passed and nobody has presented an objection,'' said Kruppenbacher.

Kruppenbacher said the city is protected by the estop doctrine. Under that provision, an individual loses the right to file a claim when some time has passed since the alleged wrongdoing. A spokeswoman for the Florida Attorney General's office said the doctrine ''might or might not apply in this case,'' adding that only a court can decide.

Fred Kittinger, an aide to Stuart, said his office is not likely to pursue an investigation because city officials told him of the estoppel doctrine. ''For better or worse, if this applies then we cannot do anything,'' said Kettinger.

He added that even if official wrongdoing were involved, his office could not investigate a case that has no legal recourse.

Sims, however, said that he is going to ask other residents to call the senator's office.

''If he wants us to flood his office with phone calls we will,'' he said. ''We are in a growth area where a lot of building permits are given each month and if this happened once, it can happen again. We have to show to our public officials that they cannot take advantage of the faith we have put on them.''